


unresolved tension

by v1ewmonster



Category: Super Smash Brothers
Genre: Confusion, Gen, Light Angst, No Romance, Post-Canon, Rivalry, Tension, porky is only mentioned
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-15
Updated: 2020-03-15
Packaged: 2021-03-01 02:41:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,394
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23157988
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/v1ewmonster/pseuds/v1ewmonster
Summary: "Though he doesn’t say anything. He doesn’t look at him either. It’s almost as if he doesn’t want to look at him. Like he’s done something wrong. Commited a crime, even! Ness can keep guessing, but he can tell it’s going to take a while before he gets to the bottom of it.Despite all that, the ground is soft and he’s willing to dig."A what-if scenario in which Lucas takes Ness and Porky's involvement with each other the wrong way, sparking an unspoken rivalry between him and Ness. Unaware of Lucas' past, Ness strives to find a way to talk to him before he causes more of a dent in his perception of him.
Kudos: 11





	unresolved tension

If there’s anything Ness wouldn’t expect when meeting a new person, it’s when they express unexplained aggression at him _simply_ for existing. Or so it seems, because he can barely understand why this kid is trying to pick a fight with him, and they’ve only looked at each other for _five_ seconds!

The stick at his throat is new—he isn’t particularly counting on fighting someone he hardly met, either. Yet he’s here anyway, still as a deer in the headlights, fixated on the boy’s blue eyes, which are filled to the brim with fresh hatred. Now that’s a nice feeling in the morning, isn’t it?

Ness gulps, fixating on the floor now. He takes the stick and slowly shoves it down 

near the boy’s sides, so that it isn’t scratching at his throat now. It’s starting to get raspy anyway. 

He wants to say something, _anything_. But the only words he can manage is a laugh, a good-natured one, to be specific. Maybe that will change the boy’s mind that he isn’t a threat. 

Instead, the boy sighs, averting his eyes. His somber expression remains, but he isn’t as keen to kill him now like before. And it isn’t like Ness is in the mood to be on Death’s door _again_ today. 

And then—he can _feel_ it. That sensation… PSI coursing through his veins, but it isn’t his. It’s calm, only for a second, before it turns into unprecedented rage. It rattles in his bones, enough to sweep him off his feet, almost, but he keeps his composure, keeping his eye on the blond boy.

Though he doesn’t say anything. He doesn’t look at him either. It’s almost as if he doesn’t _want_ to look at him. Like he’s done something wrong. Committed a crime, even! Ness can keep guessing, but he can tell it’s going to take a while before he gets to the bottom of it.

Despite all that, the ground is soft and he’s willing to dig.

  
  
  
  
  


“ _You_.” is the first thing he says once the ordeal has subsided. 

Ness gazes at him, uncertainty creeping at the edges of his smile. He’s never seen this boy in his life, so why is he acting like they’ve known each other for years? Acting irritable for some reason doesn’t help the fact that they don’t know each other, either.

He struggles to hold back a laugh, eyes still planted on him. “Uhh, I have a _name_ , you know.”

The boy fails to register this, considering he says nothing once Ness finishes his statement. Perhaps he doesn’t care to exchange names? Besides that, what’s his deal? 

“I gotta question for ya,” The words pile out automatically, but Ness doesn’t care. He doesn’t want to care about his reckless shortcomings in any capacity. “What’s your damage?”

The blond boy is silent. It doesn’t seem like he’s going to get an answer, either. 

So Ness pushes him further.

“What’s your name?”

Radio silence on his part. 

Ness sighs, leaning back in his seat. It’s his loss for deciding not to talk. He can’t exactly blame him, however. 

He relaxes, pretending he isn’t in the room. That is, until he hears something next to him.

“Lucas.”

Ness turns to the boy, tilting his head to a specific degree. “Hmm?”

“You asked for my name.”

Oh right, he _did_. He laughs it off, acting like he casually forgot. 

“Oh yeah! Well—” He exchanges a hand—“The name’s Ness! I hope we can be friends from now on!”

Lucas gets up, the noise exuding from his chair making him cringe inwardly, watching Ness’ hand hang about in the air in a friendly manner. He ignores it, pushing past him with an irritated look on his face. Ness notices this, turning around and sharing the same expression, albeit to a lesser extent.

“Hey, what’s the big idea? Is there somethin’ wrong with bein’ friends?”

Lucas stops, hugging his body, his eyes shifting over to Ness. And, in an act of word association, he sighs and says—

_"Yes_ … yes, there is.”

He leaves from there, and Ness doesn’t have the heart to chase after him. He calls it a day, knowing that Lucas probably won’t reciprocate his feelings anytime soon. He’s probably being annoying at this point, anyway.

  
  
  


He hates to admit it, but he’s in pain.

Somehow, the hatted boy—Ness, his name was—doesn’t seem to understand his evident hatred for him. Didn’t he understand that he was friends with the person that _ruined_ his life? And Porky held him with such high regard, too!

He knows what he saw. He _knows_ exactly what he saw in the New Pork City Theater. If that doesn’t say anything about Ness’ involvement in Porky’s life (possibly a reason as to why he ended up the way he did), he didn’t know what else would make him feel convinced otherwise.

That expression of his… it looked so innocent and carefree—a radically different disposition compared to Porky. He didn’t _understand_ how that could be possible. How can someone who’s trying to be friendly be _friends_ with someone who has the capability to tear a family apart? 

Unless… Lucas thinks for a moment. He’s only being friendly to later manipulate him in the end? Yes, that _must_ be it.

He gets up, a light green yo-yo clutched in his hand, walking out of the room in hopes that he doesn’t end up bumping into Ness.

  
  
  


“I don’t understand it,” Ness says, glancing at Zelda sidelong. “I thought meeting someone just like me would be cool and all, but all he wants to do is kill me dead. Like what did _I_ ever do to him?”

“A lot to make him riled up like that, apparently,” Zelda says. “Seriously, what did you do?”

“ _Nothing_ ,” Ness mutters. “You think he’d tell me?”

“Well, maybe if you just _asked_ —”

“You think I haven’t tried that already!?” Ness says, hands flat on the table. He sighs, eyes tightly closed whilst sitting down. “Sorry, I’m just… confused.”

Zelda nods. “I would be too, if someone didn’t tell me why they were mad at me and instead was set on ignoring me.”

“Then what do you suppose I should do?” 

“Well,” Zelda says, forefingers pushing against each other, “you should give him some time. Wait for him to cool down a bit. Maybe then, he’ll decide to talk?”

Ness mulls it over for a moment. Lucas doesn’t seem the type to forgive and forget, but maybe if he _did_ avoid him for a while, he’d open his mouth that was clearly sealed shut since the beginning.

He sighs at the thought. He wants to know _now_. He doesn’t think he can take any longer. He isn’t one to always be impatient, but this is an important matter (of course it is when it concerns him), so _of course_ he can’t sit still at the thought of waiting for him to simmer down. He doesn’t even know when that will happen, at this rate!

“Alright…” He says simply, getting up without caring to push in his chair. He isn’t entirely on board with this, but if it helps him get the information he wants, he may as well go through with it. 

He waves goodbye to Zelda, thanking her for her help. She smiles in response, telling him that she’d do anything in her power to help him. And she was right. She was always willing to help him whenever he’s in a tight situation, which happened to be often. 

By the time he heads into another room, he sees none other than Lucas, talking to Pit, one of the other newcomers Ness had gotten to be acquainted with. But that isn’t what he’s focusing on. He gazes at what’s clenched in Lucas’ fists. It’s—

_My yo-yo?_ Where could he have gotten that from? Ness hasn’t seen that yo-yo in a million years! He recalls losing it, even though he knows it’s always on his nightstand. But now… _now_ … it’s here, but it’s in the wrong hands. 

He waits for Pit to leave, and that’s his cue to take the strike.

He prepares himself, running towards Lucas and seizing the yo-yo out of his hand. Lucas glares at him, baby blue eyes growing dark, lips curling into a scowl.

“Where did you get this?” Ness asks. “Tell me.”

“This is yours?” Lucas counters with another question.

“Uhh, yeah, that’s why I’m askin’.” Ness twirls the yo-yo in his hand. _Of course_ he’s dodging the question. That’s the way he is, or so it seems.

Lucas stands there soundlessly, only snatching the yo-yo back from him and sprinting away. But he won’t get his way that easily. Ness runs after him, arm outstretched, waiting to grab his collar, but Lucas is faster, outrunning him easily. He’s not counting on letting him get away, however.

Ness can feel the stamina drain out of him immediately after grabbing for him. He doesn’t let that get to him, watching Lucas run faster and faster. Why is he so persistent? Doesn’t he know that it isn’t his? Of course he knows… that’s why he’s running off with it. Why didn’t he think of that earlier? 

He watches Lucas turn a corner, only for that corner to be a dead end. He stands there petrified for a moment, turning around and seeing Ness catch up with him. 

Ness is panting by the time he surrounds Lucas, his hand on the wall while he stares at the floor, catching his breath. However, Lucas isn’t making an effort to run, only standing there with a terrified expression. 

“Now, tell me—” He proceeds to cough—“Why are you runnin’ away with that? It’s mine, yanno…” 

“I’m aware,” Lucas says, “it’s just…” 

Ness sighs. He’s beating around the bush again. “Uh-huh?”

Lucas inhales, taking note of Ness’ expression. Is he _really_ playing dumb or is he _that_ hopelessly confused? Regardless, he might as well get what he’s been holding in out of his chest.

“How could you be friends with someone like that!?” He snaps, and then, realizing what he just said, he shuts his mouth, turning away in shame. 

Ness is taken aback. He takes a step forward, asking, “What do you mean by that? We don’t even know each other!”

“We may not know each other,” Lucas says, “but you know _him_.”

Ness gazes back in disorientation. Whoever this ‘him’ is, he might as well tell him already.

As if Lucas read his mind (which is very likely, at this point), he continues: “You mean you don’t know?”

“Yanno, if you told me instead of stallin’ like this, maybe I’d know.” Ness says 

bitterly. 

“Right… Look, I’m talking about Porky. He—”

“Porky?” Ness repeats. How does he know him? He then recalls Porky saying that he was heading off to another dimension, which means… 

“Yes,” Lucas says, “he… he did all sorts of things. He killed my mother and brother, to start off.”

Ness emits an “oh,” a wave of silence washing over him. He’s… done all that? And he never even thought to keep Ness up to date? Unless he truly doesn’t care about him, which is possible, considering he stole his yo-yo without his acknowledgement. 

“He seems to like you quite a lot,” Lucas says.

“Really?” Ness says, averting his eyes. “We weren’t exactly on good terms last time we talked…” 

Lucas doesn’t ask to elaborate. Instead, he turns away, as if contemplating what he’s done. Like he’s done something totally _wrong_ . But he _hasn’t_! At least, not in Ness’ opinion. It’s only a careless mistake, if anything. It’s not like he knew whether Ness was friendly with Porky or not. 

Ness waves a hand in his face, watching his eyes turn glassy upon hearing what he said. “You… doin’ alright?” 

Lucas jumps at this. “Uhh, yeah, sorry. I was just thinking.”

“I can tell,” Ness says. 

“So,” Lucas says, “you really aren’t a bad person?”

Ness is taken aback by this. Even if he wasn’t directly involved with the act, how could Lucas draw to that kind of conclusion? Despite his weird logic at that moment, he can only sigh. 

“Of course not,” He assures him. “You can trust me, man.”

Lucas isn’t looking at him in disbelief, this time. Instead, he smiles softly. It’s the first time he’s seen Lucas smile ever since they met. It’s refreshing, in a sense. 

“I know,” Lucas says. “I really couldn’t believe it, back then. All these thoughts were running through my mind. Like—how could you possibly be a good person if you were involved with him, and how he seemed to like you all the same?”

“You _really_ shouldn’t judge people who you just met,” Ness says, chuckling. 

“That’s a habit on my part,” Lucas says in defense.

Ness laughs, more softly, this time. “Well, anyways, now that we got things clear enough, we might as well call a truce.” 

“Truce?” The words fall out of Lucas’ mouth as if they’re unrecognizable. It makes Ness question his knowledge, but he reminds himself not to judge people too harshly, especially in this instance.

“Yeah!” Ness says, extending a hand. “We might as well. And hey, maybe we can be friends! Does that sound good to you?” 

Lucas hesitates for a moment, then raises a hand. “I guess… you seem nice enough.”

Ness wants to laugh at that, but instead, he swallows it down. “Aight then! We now have a truce.” He extends his hand further. 

Lucas does the same, shaking his hand. It feels warm, in comparison to his, which is cold. In a way, he’s… glad that things have been settled out. He didn’t plan on holding a grudge against Ness, specifically, so he’s glad that things ended up turning out the way they did.

“I’ll… tell you about Porky later,” Ness says, breaking the silence. “Does that sound alright to you?”

Lucas nods, the stiffness in his shoulders washing away. “Yeah.”

Ness smiles, and for a second, he sees Lucas smiling back. It feels nice, being able to resolve tension that he thought wouldn’t ever simmer down. But at this point, he can tell that the two of them will be great friends for as long as they can put up with each other.

And that… that is its own brand of trust.


End file.
